Freebird

LOL....I wondered if anybody would mention the vice grips. Actually they were all I had handy to pinch of the ends of the fuel lines.

You do mean in the classifieds. Right?

Well the parts came right after I posted that. I got the new bearings and seals in, new intake and exhaust gaskets, motor back in and everything buttoned up. It is running good. Just have to see if it will float now. Will probably take it back to the lake tomorrow. I think this time I'll leave it on the trailer for a few minutes though after I back it down the ramp.

OK... a few weeks ago I posted our our first outings on the jet ski. One wouldn't run and the other actually sunk. So....I changed the plugs, cleaned the carbs and just did some normal tuning on the one that wouldn't run and got it going pretty good. The one that sunk had a cracked expansion chamber that was spraying water inside the ski and I found a water hose plugged up that probably caused it to hold water and freeze and crash the chamber over the winter. Got the water out of the engine, got the expansion chamber all welded up, got it all back together and running pretty good. So all is well. Right? Uh...WRONG. Took them both out again. I decided to put them in the water one at a time and try them before unloading both. I started with the one that sank last time. Unloaded it and all seemed well. Went and parked the Murano and trailer with there other still on it. Got on the ski, then Eileen got on the ski. About the time I started to fire it up.....we realized that we were SINKING again. Got off of it quickly and ran to get the Murano and trailer. Got it loaded back up but it was completely full of water again. Decided to try the other one while we were there. Got it unloaded and except for idling a little rough, it ran very well. We rode around on it for a while and then headed back home. Got home and starting trying to figure out where the leak was. Put some water in the hull and nothing was leaking. So I decided what the heck...it HAS to be leaking from somewhere so I just kept putting water in it. Finally, when the water got up to the drive shaft, water started running out of the hull. Yep, the drive shaft seal is shot. So, I ordered new drive shaft bearings and seal on Monday and am waiting for them to get here so I can get them installed. This is my very first experience with Jet Skis but I'm learning about them fast. Of course to replace the drive shaft bearings and seals, the drive shaft has to come out. To get the drive shaft out, you have to almost pull the motor so that it will slide forward enough to come out. Didn't have to pull it all the way out, just enough that the shaft will slide under it and can be removed. Here are some pictures of how a shade tree mechanic works on a jet ski.

Litchfield is about 20 minutes from my house.

http://www.diamondraccessories.com/yamaha/proddisplay.php?name=Swingout%20Tubular%20Armrest

You folks should check the classifieds sometimes. Never know what you will find there.

If it's the tube where the fuel line slips on, that is not all that uncommon. I had one come off years ago. Just tapped it back in with a hammer and it never came out again.

You know there are two fuse locations right? Some behind the left side panel and more inside the lower left cowling.

Those are really sharp.

A bit unusual for a bike that new but I would suspect that the springs are worn out. If they have never been replaced, I would be looking at installing a set of Sonic springs.

What is that supposed to be? Those are just pictures of the old model.

Probably Thursday of this week, Bill will be contacting the caterer to let them know how many people are expected for the Dinner. PLEASE get your registrations in pronto if you plan to attend. Folks, we are going to have a great time. There aren't as many people registered as I or the others expected but the success of this event will be based upon the great time that we have, not the number of people who show up. Eileen and I will certainly be there. If you are on the fence, I hope that you cross on over and join us there. Please register soon though.

Did you see this @BIG TOM

Everything is listed in the VentureRider Merchandise forum. Big Tom's information is listed in the thread for shirts.

Folks, I'm not saying no to this but am saying that we need to check with @BIG TOM first as he has been taking care of our t-shirts for some time now. It would not be fair to buy them elsewhere before first talking to him and finding out how he feels about it.

Yes, final drive is the same as what you are accustomed to. Oil change is straight forward EXCEPT...don't overfill. If you just put in the amount that Yamaha calls for, you will overfill it. You need to add oil until it is just a little over half way in the site glass with the bike in the upright position, NOT on the side stand.

This is a "Brewer's Best" kit. It is a 5 gallon kit. The kit came with a no rinse sanitizer so I'm good there. For whatever reason, they recommend that you do a two stage fermentation. Especially if you are a new brewer. So I also got a 5 gallon carboy. So after 5 to 7 days, I will transfer it to the carboy to let it finish fermenting. Also have to pick up more bottles. She picked up 24 bottles and caps with the kit but I will need at least twice that many to bottle 5 gallons. Didn't get started yesterday. The post I had planned to use was too big to fit on my stovetop due to the microwave being mounted above the stove. It is a way bigger pot that I really need. The next size pot I had would have been filled within a couple inches from the top before even adding the malt and etc. and I felt it would be too easy to boil over. So I will pick up a pot this week and then get started next weekend. Haven't come up with a name yet and don't plan to buy any labels at this time. I looked on line and those labels get expensive. I will keep looking until I find something cheap. I can't see spending a buck each on labels.

Yes, that is what she bought. I watched a video on YouTube about that point where it will boil over if you aren't careful. Thanks for the reminder. I'll check out that forum. My first attempt is going to be a Double IPA because that is sort of my beer of choice at this time.

If we HAD a camera with us, it would very likely be no good now.

My wife got me a beer brewing system for Father's Day. So tomorrow I will start my first batch of a Double IPA as I like the IPA beers. Anybody here brew beer? It seems pretty straight forward but I would welcome any tips. The main thing that I've picked up on so far is make sure to sanitize, sanitize, sanitize.

Already checked the other one. No plugged hoses on it. Yes, I used the flush adapter when running it tonight. No leaks and the water is circulating as it should.

I now NOT of what you speak.

Maybe not completely, the nose was sticking out of the water. We finally took the newly acquired jet skis out for a fun day on the lake. Well, it turned out to NOT be so much fun. That was a week ago and tonight I got the engine back in and got it running fairly well again. These Kawasaki 1100 SXT skis are two stroke. They have an expansion chamber on the exhaust that is cooled by a water jacket. If that water jacket happens to crack, it doesn't take all that long to fill the ski with water and it WILL go under at that point. So, I ended up pulling the engine and flushing it out. Installed a new starter because the old one shorted out. Had the expansion chamber welded up. Replaced the outlet water hose on the expansion chamber that was completely plugged with sand from one end to the other. Had to be that we when we bought them because we didn't get far enough from the dock to get into any sand. Turned it over with the plugs out to blow out the remaining water. Got it fired up but it was running a bit rough. Added a can of Seafoam and got it circulated through the system and it's finally running pretty good. I think it's going to be OK but won't know until we get it back on the water and run it a while. I THINK that the plugged hose caused the expansion chamber to overheat and is probably what caused it to crack. Jet Skis are SOOOOO very much fun. Can't wait to try it again. 100% chance of rain tomorrow so probably won't get a chance this weekend but who knows. Maybe Sunday will be better. I know NOTHING about Jet Skis. This was the first time I've ever attempted to ride one and it was a very short ride. I'm learning a lot about them though.

You can find them on Ebay. Here is one example but I've seen others without the cable. This is for a Goldwing but I think it's the same as the Venture. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-Gold-Wing-Headphone-Adapter-5-pin-GOLD-DIN-to-3-5mm-GOLD-Jack-NEW-/381279499369?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58c6077469